Here Are The Top 10 Industrial Projects Going Into 2009

A recent analysis of active projects in Industrial Info's North American Industrial Project Database reveals the top 10 industrial projects under development in terms of capital investment, slated to begin in 2009 or beyond. The 10 projects represent more than $147 billion total investment value. Nine of the projects are located in the U.S. and one is in Canada.

Given  today's economic climate there's no guarantee all of the projects listed will find their way to fruition. The petroleum refinery projects look iffy amid the plunge in global oil prices, and the nuclear power projects no doubt are years away from starting, if ever. Nonetheless, here are the project rankings at last analysis, along with their total investment value.

1. San Francisco-to-San Diego High-Speed Rail System, $40 billion.
2. Freeport (TX) Petroleum Refinery, $20 billion.
3. Berwick (PA) Nuclear 1600MW Bell Bend Unit #1, $15 billion
4. Inglis (FL) 2200MW Levy County Nuclear Power Station, $14 billion.
5. Waynesboro (GA) 2234 MW Vogtle #3 & #4 Nuclear Additions, $12 billion.
6. Jenkinsville (SC) 2234 MW Summer Nuclear #2 & #3 Additions, $10 billion.
7. Elk Point (SD) Crude Oil Refinery, $10 billion
8. Tonopah (AZ) 2600 MW Palo Verde Nuclear Units #4 & #5 Additions, $10 billion.
9. Wessington Springs (SD) 4900 MW Titan Windfarm (Phase II), $8.33 billion.
10. Nanticoke (Ontario) 3200 MW Bruce Power New Nuclear Project, $8 billion.

Supply House Times Names Wilson Wholesaler Of The Year
Houston-based energy and industrial PVF distributor Wilson has been selected as the 2008 Wholesaler of the Year by Supply House Times magazine. A wholly-owned subsidiary of publicly-owned Smith International, Wilson has enjoyed remarkable success in recent times due to the boom in oil and gas exploration, and is renowned for overall operational excellence. Read Wilson's story here.

Ferguson's Durham To Head Wolseley Power Sector
Wolseley North America recently appointed Frank Durham to the position of business manager overseeing the power sector of the industrial business group. Durham began his career with Ferguson in 2006, as a branch manager in Evansville, IN. He was most recently a business development manager for the central region.

Baker Sales Celebrates With Grand Opening
Baker Sales Inc., a steel pipe wholesaler, celebrated its 30th Anniversary with the grand opening of a new office and warehouse in Slidell, LA. The ribbon cutting ceremony by the East St. Tammany Chamber of commerce was held on Dec. 5.

Good People Are Not That Hard To Find

Every business seems to complain about how hard it is to find good employees. Yet, a largely untapped source of talent tends to be ignored. Find out who we're talking about here.

                                          Valve Basics
This course provides an overview of industrial valves used in commercial applications. Includes definitions of common industry terms, descriptions of the major types of industrial valves and the fittings and mounting methods for each type of valve. It also provides information to help employees serve their customers more effectively. SECOND EDITION. BOOK: Includes book, end-of-chapter quizzes with answer keys, final exam, and certificate of completion. Retail Price: $119.00  FOLLOW THIS LINK for more information.

Visit AECstore.com for all your PVF resources.  For questions call Stephanie at 248/244-1275.

Tech Tip #12 by Gregg Marshall
To help you make the most of the Digital Age.

Sneaker-net-that's what they used to call carrying a floppy disk between computers to transfer files. And the highest capacity floppy was 1.44 megabytes.

In the last couple of years, sneaker-net has resurfaced using USB flash drives.  My first held 16 megabytes. Now 16 gigabyte drives are affordable, while 1 and 2 gigabyte drives cost less than $10.

And they are handy for more than transferring files. Back up those critical files each day and carry the drive home with you.

Carry important documents, like scanned images of your passport, medical records, etc. separate from your computer. Even if it gets lost or stolen, you have what you need.

My favorite new flash drive is a 4-gigabyte A-Data PD15 (Amazon has it). It's about as thick as a credit card and half the size of regular flash drives (think the same size as the key fob versions of your office supply or grocery store loyalty card). It lives in my wallet and is available anywhere I might need my data, or someone has some file to give me.

 Gregg Marshall, CPMR, CSP, is president of Rep Connection Inc. He can be reached by e-mail at gmarshall@repconnection.com, or visit his LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/greggmarshall.

Steam System Flow Meter
Spirax Sarco  offers the DIVA™ compact steam flow meter for general metering applications, as well as fiscal metering, product costing and efficiency monitoring in steam systems. The unit can be mounted in either vertical or horizontal lines and requires straight line runs of only six pipe diameters upstream and three downstream. These factors help make the DIVA flow meter easily installed where other meters, such as orifice plates or vortex meters, cannot be applied.

Hayward Diaphragm Valves
Hayward Flow Control Systems is now offering a new line of plastic diaphragm valves that provide superior handling of difficult media such as corrosive fluids, abrasives or slurries, and can also be used for high purity and sanitary applications. Available in manual or actuated (pneumatic or electric) models, DAB Series valves feature a multi-turn design for precise control, are rated to 150 PSI, can be used for on/off or throttling service, and are self-draining on one side so little or no dead volume remains in the valve. A choice of EPDM, FPM or PTFE diaphragms are available to fit ½" - 6" PVC, ½" - 4" CPVC, ½" - 10" PPL, and ½" - 8" PVDF valve bodies. Connection options include molded-in ANSI flanges, ASTM True Union socket end connections or threaded bodies.